Free Book Templates for your Manuscript

At DiggyPOD, we offer free book templates for the author wanting to publish a book. Before sending your book to print, you will need to layout the book. You will need a template for the inside pages of the book, and a template for the outside cover of your book. Below you will find our free Microsoft Word book templates for the inside pages. You will also want to check out our Free Book Cover Templates.

Download a Free Microsoft Word Book Template

These book templates are set-up for Microsoft Word and have the correct page size and margins already set-up for you to use. Download the correct page size template you want to use:

Create a Book Template in Microsoft Word

If you already have your manuscript typed, then you can watch our video tutorial below to learn how to set-up the page size and margins to create your own book template. You can use this same tutorial to create a custom size book template as well.

This video walks you through setting up the book template margins and the correct page size for your book:
Your browser does not support the video tag.
If having difficulties viewing the video you may view on
youtube

Follow these instructions to set up a book template:

Go to Page Layout and select "Margins."

Select "Custom Margins."

Select "Mirror Margins" under Multiple Pages.

Adjust the margin values to match the following:

Top: .5

Bottom .5

Inside: .8

Outside: .5

Gutter: 0

Select "Portrait" under Orientation.

Select "Whole Document" under Apply To.

Switch over to the Paper tab.

Adjust the height and width to match the paper size your book will
be printed in.

Select "OK" to save the changes.

Setting up Bleeds for Your Interior Book Template

If you want the interior pages to bleed (where the artwork goes right to the edge of the paper) and are using Microsoft Word, or any other word processing
program, you will need to add .125" to each side of the document to accommodate for the excess paper that will be trimmed off.

For example: If you want a 5.5" x 8.5" finished trim size, you
will need to add .125" to all four sides of your document, which
will create a 5.75" x 8.75" page size. We will trim off .125" from
each side to give you a finished trim size of 5.5" x 8.5".

For a professional interior book layout, we recommend that you
keep any elements you don't want trimmed off, at least a .5" from
the top, outside, bottom, and .8" from the binding side of the
book. Also remember to select Mirror Margins, when setting up your
custom page size in Microsoft Word.

If you are using Microsoft Word, or any other word processing
program, it can be very difficult to set up bleeds correctly and
have everything line up evenly throughout the interior of the
book. We suggest using a more robust piece of software like
Adobe InDesign. Adobe does offer a free trial for 30 days,
and has monthly plans as well.

If you are using a page layout program like Adobe InDesign, and want
certain pages to bleed, you will need to include the bleeds and crop
marks when you export your file as a PDF file. Adobe offers a great
help section on how to set-up your document with bleeds using InDesign.

Pro Tip: When using any
Adobe product to export PDF's, always use the PDF/x-1a:2001 setting.
This setting will alert you to any low resolution images and embed
all of your fonts as well.

Common Book File Issues and Questions

What is Font Embedding?

Font Embedding is when all the font information is captured from
your computer and stored inside the PDF file.

Why is Font Embedding so Important?

If the fonts are not embedded in your PDF files, the type can reflow
and become distorted. Even common Fonts like Times need to be
embedded, because what we have found is there are many different
versions of the Common Fonts.

The good news is that embedding Fonts is quite Easy. DiggyPOD
recommends using the DoPDF utility to embed the fonts, please view our
PDF Video Tutorial on creating a print ready pdf file.

Mac computers will automatically Embed the fonts, so no need to
worry about embedding the fonts.

Can I send in the Cover and Text in the same file?

No. DiggyPOD needs separate PDF files, PDF files for the Book Cover,
and one PDF file for the Text file. If the Cover artwork is part of
the Text file, it will mess up the Margins of the Text, after the
Cover is extracted. Please review our Cover Template
for details on how to set up the Book Cover.

PDF Page size must match the Book Trim Size

The Text PDF files must be the same size as the book trim
size being ordered. If PDF book files are supplied as 8.5 x 11, but
you want a 5.5 x 8.5 book trim size, then the files will have to be
reduced, which reduces the fonts and all the elements in the PDF
files. Reducing the file size is not recommended, because it will make
the type small and hard to read.

DiggyPOD has a Video Tutorial at
the top of this page, that will show you how you set-up your
files to the correct trim size.

Page numbers on the binding side of the Book Text File

We recommend that your page numbers, header, or footers are not on
the binding side of the book. A easy way to avoid this common book
printing problem is to have your page numbers, headers, or footers at
the bottom center of the book. If you are still unsure, just simply
print out two pages that are front and back and place them back to
back to see if everything is okay.

Can I send in a new file, if I find mistakes when proofing?

Yes. But please be aware that we charge $40.00 for each new file
that is submitted. We put a lot of work and time into quality checking
each file, and when you send a new file, we have to start the process
again from the beginning.

What if there are issues with my files? Can you fix them?

Most of the time, we can fix most common issues with your files. We
do offer a Simple File Fix service, that cost is $35.00. You can
choose this option when you place your order, and if there are any
common issues with the files, we will fix them. If there isn't
anything to be fixed, we refund the $35.00 to you.

The $35.00 Simple File Fix Service includes up to three fixes, if
the files have four or more problems, we will contact you and let you
know if we can fix the issues and what the charge will be. We will
also let you know what issues we fixed when we upload the online proof
for your approval.

If you have to send in new files that we cannot fix. The charge is
$40.00 for each new file because we have to start over our quality
check of the file.

Do I count the blank pages in the files as pages?

Yes. Blank pages are counted as a page, we will not remove any blank
pages.

Can I send my Word Files to you, instead of PDF files?

No. If you send the Word file to us, it will reflow and cause all
sorts of formatting issues. When you send us your book files in PDF,
we don't have to worry about the Text reflowing.

Will I see a proof before you print my order?

Yes. All new orders get an online proof of the Book Cover and Text
file before we go to print. You can also order a hard copy proof when
placing your order. The online proof is free, but the hard copy proof
is an extra fee.

All of your Videos are for Microsoft Word, can I use a different
program?

Yes. Most of DiggyPOD's customers use Microsoft Word, but you can
use any program that you like to use. We also have quite a few
customers that use Adobe Creative Suite. Some common programs that we
recommend to avoid using are: Powerpoint, Paint, and any other program
that saves items in low resolution. We also recommend not to use any
graphics from websites, as most graphics on websites are only 72 dpi,
and print in low resolution.

I'm using Adobe Creative Suite, what PDF setting should I use?

Adobe Creative Suite is great for laying out a book, we recommend
exporting your PDF's using the PDF/x-1a:2001 setting. This setting
will automatically embed your fonts, and alert you if there are any
low resolution graphics.

If you have any questions about our book templates or need additional assistance, please call us at (877) 944-7844. A real person always answers the phone during business hours. At DiggyPOD, we're happy to help turn your publishing dream into reality.